Jim O’Keefe | 417-655-0021Precision CoatingsJim O’Keefe, CSI, is Vice President for Sales and Marketing for Precision Coatings, a high-performance coatings company headquartered in Springfield, MO. that focus on developing innovative coating solutions for the commercial architectural market including SlipShield® which is designed to improve the slip-resistance of a variety of surfaces including ceramic tile, polished concrete, and polished stone. Prior to joining Precision Coatings more than six years ago, he was the architectural representative for Frazee Paints in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jim is an active member of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CSI where he is the current Chapter Treasurer. He is also past president of both the Santa Clara Valley Chapter and the San Francisco Chapter of CSI.

Description: The National Safety Council reports that slip/fall accidents constitute a leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that slip/fall injuries are the leading cause of hospital admissions for the elderly, as seniors are more apt to experience a slip/fall incident. Overall, slip/fall and trip accidents result in more than 8 million emergency room visits each year.

To mitigate the risk of these type of accidents, building owners, design architects and specifiers are encouraged to specify flooring systems that met or exceed slip resistant standards required to minimize slip and fall accidents.

Historically, many have believed that the Americans with Disabilities Act required a slip resistant standard that called for a static coefficient of friction measurements of 0.60 or higher for level floors and 0.80 for ramps using. Professionals have in the past relied on ASTM Standard C 1028 to establish the slip resistant standards and requirements for flooring systems.

In this program, we will explore the latest standards being introduced and adopted by the flooring industry to better reflect the actual slip resistance of flooring systems. We will also discuss various remediation strategies available to deal with existing flooring systems.

Learning points will include:

Understand the newest industry standard for evaluating the slip resistance of flooring systems.

Understand how the industry is adopting to these new standards.

How a building owner, design architect and a specifier can utilize these new industry standards.

Assess what to do with an existing flooring system not up to these standards.